Paint & Coatings Industry - March 2009 - (Page 44) G ravure printing has continually lost share in the printing market since the 1950s. Alternate technologies and, more recently, environmental demands have pressured ink makers to find new applications, new technologies and better processes. And in the last 10 years the industry has responded. But even these positive changes have put pressure on producers. Sun Chemical, the world’s largest producer of printing inks and pigments, was aware that it needed to continue to evolve with the changing industry to remain its leader. In 2004, the company began the phased relocation of its publication gravure ink production from Watford, England, just outside of London, to the existing Sun Chemical Ltd., site in Rochdale, Lancashire, about 200 miles to the north. The company’s goal was a standalone publication gravure ink plant that would utilize all new equipment and production processes to generate 30,000 metric tons of ink per year. The plant’s design incorporated the latest process control technology, designated manufacturing and raw materials storage. It would operate five lines, one for each color, and a fifth line for varnishes and extenders. It also included a tank farm for storing liquid raw materials, intermediate products and finished inks. Sun looked to outsource the role of principal contractor. The vendor would be responsible for plant design and construction, and would need to follow Construction, Design and Management (CDM) regulations while overseeing safe site operations during construction and testing phases. Sun Chemical invited Netzsch-Mastermix Ltd. (UK) to participate in a trial. A team of Netzsch engineers and Sun Chemical technical staff tested prospective plant throughputs and efficiencies. Netzsch engineers then proposed a plan for a facility that met Sun Chemical’s guidelines for product quality, volume and yearly output. The plant would be capable of pigment milling 116 to 204 kilograms per hour, and the combined mill base outputs could reach 2300 kilograms per hour. The Netzsch team would design and engineer the plant, specify equipment and manage the construction and plant start-up on a turnkey basis. It would also manage main site services and the installation and commissioning of all ancillary equipment. Acutely aware that time is money, Sun set a narrow 48-week timetable to go from completed plans all the way to live chemical trials. Plant Design Challenges Manufacturing high-quality publication gravure ink presents many challenges. For starters, materials used in the process have high solids concentrations at the grinding stage, making them viscous and difficult to pump. The toluene solvents used to produce the inks can be potentially hazardous to the environment, requiring a completely closed ink-production system. These were only two of the most obvious obstacles. So the two teams worked together to select suppliers based on their technical understanding of the products, the availability of service and backup support, ability to meet schedules and cost effectiveness. On-time delivery would play a key role in the overall timescale of the project. The team educated suppliers and provided them with installation and commissioning plans to emphasize the importance of scheduling. The team selected a combination of machines – PMD (pre-mixer disperser) batch disperser technology, upgraded LME horizontal bead mills and a PSI-Mix inline disperser. Plant utilization was split between simple intermediate product production on PMD machines and ink production on the LME and PSI combination. The LME horizontal bead mill allowed Sun to increase throughput rates with virtually no blockage. Its triple 44 MARCH 2009 | W W W . P C I M A G . C O M http://WWW.PCIMAG.COM
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